Alex Bock, owner of Top Notch Real Estate, LLC, is shown inside the renovated home at 1216 Warren St., Davenport. It’s the second home rehabilitated through the City of Davenport’s Extreme DREAM Project. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
When Alex Bock first put his eyes on the old house at 1216 Warren St., Davenport, he knew he wanted it. The 113-year-old home, vacant for about four years, was a mess. Almost everything needed to be repaired or replaced. It had major code violations and it would take months of hard work and much […]
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When Alex Bock first put his eyes on the old house at 1216 Warren St., Davenport, he knew he wanted it.The 113-year-old home, vacant for about four years, was a mess. Almost everything needed to be repaired or replaced. It had major code violations and it would take months of hard work and much money to turn the crummy old house into a real home. But he liked what he saw.
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Visitors gather in the living room of a rehabilitated DREAM home during an open house on Thursday, Jan. 9. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This is the living room of a rehabilitated DREAM home during an open house on Thursday, Jan. 9. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This is the kitchen of a rehabilitated DREAM home during an open house on Thursday, Jan. 9. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This 113-year-old house is at 1216 Warren St., Davenport. The home is the second one rehabilitated through the City of Davenport’s Extreme DREAM Project. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Susanne Knutsen, left, economic development manager for the City of Davenport, talks with Alex Bock, center, owner of Top Notch Real Estate, LLC, inside the renovated home at 1216 Warren St., Davenport. It’s the second home rehabilitated through the City of Davenport’s Extreme DREAM Project. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This is the kitchen of a rehabilitated DREAM home during an open house on Thursday, Jan. 9. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
This is the original fireplace in the living room area of the renovated home at 1216 Warren St., Davenport. That home is the second home rehabilitated through the City of Davenport’s Extreme DREAM Project. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
“In fact, I loved it. I fell in love with it right away. … It’s a good, solid old house,” said Mr. Bock, owner of Top Notch Real Estate, LLC. “This home had been quite grand in its time. It has a lot of character and a lot of life left.”That solid old house is even better today now that Mr. Bock has spent the past nine months restoring and modernizing the home that is a few blocks north of downtown Davenport.That house was the center of attention Thursday, Jan. 9, during a private open house with about a dozen City of Davenport officials to show off its many updates. That home is the second house rehabilitated through Davenport’s Extreme DREAM Project. That project is an initiative to provide matching funding to renovate old houses and invest in the city’s heritage neighborhoods.In the Warren Street house project, for instance, the city partnered with Mr. Bock and Top Notch Real Estate on the project and provided $100,000 in matching funds for a total budget of $200,000 to transform the old house. The house is now listed for sale for $229,000. (Go here for more information on the home.)“What a transformation; a complete transformation. … It’s a modern house, but still has old-time character,” said Susanne Knutsen, economic development manager for the City of Davenport, as she looked over the renovations during the open house.Ms. Knutsen was one of the city officials who gave tours of the Warren Street home almost two years ago when officials unveiled the Extreme DREAM Project. At that time, the house was abandoned and trashy. “These are the kind of houses that people look away from,” she said at the time.Today, the transformed home features many modern amenities that had people amazed. Some of the features include:
The two-story home, built in 1912, has an exterior or brick, painted white with a green door and black trim. There is a new wooden fence around the property and two trees in the front yard.
The home has about 1,700 square feet of space.
The house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. (It originally had four bedrooms and one bathroom before it was redesigned.)
The first floor features a living room area with the home’s original fireplace. (That fireplace is currently a non-functioning and decorative feature. Mr. Bock said the home’s new owners could turn the fireplace into a functioning feature of the home.
Other first-floor features include a kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
The second floor consists of the master suite bedroom and spa-like bathroom, closets and laundry room.
The home also has an unfinished basement
The Davenport Extreme DREAM Project is a neighborhood restoration project that hopes to inspire a renewed interest in the unique architecture and character found in the City of Davenport’s heritage neighborhoods. Launched in March 2023, the project was created to rehab vacant and abandoned homes into owner-occupied residences in the Gaines Street corridor. The project offers a dollar for dollar match up to $100,000 to purchase and renovate a property in the project area. Davenport has allocated $2.1 million for the project.“The success of Extreme DREAM relies on the vision of people like Mr. Bock. Returning vacant property into owner-occupied homes brings new life and economic diversity to our heritage neighborhoods,” said Ms. Knutsen in a news release before Thursday’s open house.
